BY: CHRISTOPHER FERNANDEZ

It has long been looming on the Malaysian political landscape and the bare fact is that Malaysians would, in the near future, have to decide between meritocracy or affirmative action as the course of action for the people and nation.

Why is this so? This is because for decades the affirmative action policies in place by successive Malaysian governments have not yielded satisfactory results and there appears to be no logic or reason to continue with these forms of affirmation.

But Malaysian governments of the past and present are beating the red lights to basically prolong the agony of everyone and when push comes to shove they will realise how foolhardy they have been all these years.

Meritocracy, a core and fundamental value of democracy, if practised along with other tenets and obligations of democracy such as fairplay and justice, will take the nation much further than what the Republic of Singapore has achieved across the Causeway.

How has affirmative action failed us?

If the Malaysian government thinks, even for a moment, that by robbing Ah Kow and Ramasamy to give Ali they are going down the right path, the evidence and proof that has emerged for all affirmative action policies is that it has backfired.

Instead of drawing the Bumiputras or indigenous people on level and par with the Chinese and Indians, it has only caused pockets of wealth to be created for select Bumiputras while the majority are deemed as basket cases.

This schism in Malaysian society is the reason for the disarray or imbalance as the gains made from economic growth have not been equitably distributed but pocketed by the elite in this country who make up only a small fraction of the population.

This is also the reason for the general sentiment and feeling that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer, and mind you, this is not a perception, but a hard, harsh reality of how affirmative action failed the nation.

Are affirmative action policies necessary?

Are there no other options for Malaysia to address the socio economic status of Bumiputras than through affirmative action?  Actually, there are other options available but affirmative action implemented initially in 1970 was a shotgun blast.

The New Economic Policy (NEP), or affirmative action policy for Bumiputras was hastily conceived by Tun Abdul Razak to appease the Malays in the aftermath of the May 13, 1969 race riots.

There were no forums, debate or discussions held to determine the validity of the NEP but Abdul Razak was high handed and autocratic in wanting his way thinking this was the best form of action for Malaysia.

This is the reason why prime ministers should not be allowed to take on dictatorial powers as it kills democracy and the subsequent result is that this country is now starting to implode just as a fish rots from the head.

Will restoring meritocracy help?

It is not just that by implementing meritocracy it would help all Malaysians, but in one fell swoop the essence of democracy is put into practice to ensure a partnership of equals between people of all races and religions.

“Inilah yang kita mahu” or this is what is necessary to ensure that life is fair and square for every Malaysian compared to the implementation of affirmative action for Bumiputras which is basically a form of apartheid being practised.

It is meritocracy that caused the distance in prosperity between Singapore and Malaysia to grow and in a natural way it was also seen and attested to where Mr Lee Kuan Yew “separated the men from the boys.”

While Abdul Razak shuttered down on meritocracy and the other tenets and obligations of democracy, Mr Lee in Singapore enforced and emphasised on democracy as he had the foresight that it will build a Great Nation.

Meritocracy is the cause of happiness 

If Singapore is now a First World nation, transformed by Mr Lee from being a backwater nation, and if it rates highly on the United Nation’s World Happiness Index, the cause of it can be traced to practising meritocracy.

While in Malaysia, though race relations are healthy, politicians play the race and religion card to implement policies that are a burden on the rakyat and what is more appaling is that they reek of injustice and are void of meritocracy.

If all Malaysians earned their stripes on merit rather than by favouritism and politicking, this nation would not be pulling and pushing in different directions but everyone will be heading in the right direction of peace, progress and prosperity.

Meritocracy is the way forward for any democracy and if it worked wonderfully for Singapore, it can work wonders for Malaysia as both nations were a single country and are basically of the same ilk.

Malaysians should be on the same page

It is high time for the mindset of Malaysians to change and this change is necessary for the betterment of everyone in the country by discarding parochial, narrow minded thinking and views.

The writing is on the wall now for all Malaysians to witness and see and in an era of globalization the implementation of democracy is important to not be viewed as a rogue nation by the international community.

The worst case scenario is when the failure to practise meritocracy leads us backwards and causes us to become a third world country, or worse still, a failed state from which the nation will never again be able to rise.

This is also the reason why self seeking  and self serving political leaders should be discarded and replaced, and those rooting for racism should be evicted from speaking on behalf of the rakyat and leading them.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher